Two Apple Airpod Alternatives

If you’re not keen on waiting for the Airpods to become available, here are two wireless in-ear earbuds that are currently available in South Africa:

1. Bragi Dash

The Bragi Dash is the original wireless in-ear earbud.

Originally launched as a Kickstarter in January 2016, the Dash set the standard for wireless earbuds and created a new technology category, namely, hearables.

Unlike traditional “wireless” earphones, the Dash has no wires or cables anywhere. Not even ones which hang around your neck.

The Dash is so much more than just a pair of earbuds. They’re packed with some of the most advanced tech on the market.

“The Dash is more like a computer,” says Bragi CEO Nikolaj Hviid.

In fact, according to Bragi’s website, the Dash is a powerful microcomputer with more than 150 micro components, 27 sensors, and a 32-bit processor about the size of your fingertip.

The Dash not only lets you listen to music, but also has a built-in fitness tracker. It lets you do things like answer or reject phone calls, by either nodding or shaking your head.

The Dash also includes a unique feature which they call Audio Transparency. This, essentially, allows you to either dial out or listen to ambient noise while you’re using The Dash. This means that, if you’re out and about, you can still hear the sounds of cars and people around you.

On the music front, the Dash has 4GB onboard storage, which means that you can listen to music without wires and without your phone! It supports MP3 and AAC playback and music files can be transferred via USB. If streaming music is more your thing, then you can stream music to the Dash as well.

Music controls are easy and utilise the touch pad sensor on the side of the earbuds.

The Dash has up to four hours playback time and charges in under two hours.

Charging is done in the included case and the charging case itself has a 2200mAh battery.

The Bragi Dash is compatible with Android, iOS devices, and has limited support for Windows 10 devices.

2. Samsung Gear Icon X

Samsung has also entered the hearable arena thanks to the release of its Gear Icon X wireless earbuds.

It shares many similarities with the Bragi Dash, including the fact that it’s completely wireless, has an ambient noise setting, has 4GB onboard storage, and has a built-in fitness tracker.

Music can either be stored on the Gear Icon X, or streamed to the earbuds, via Bluetooth. The carrying case also doubles up as the charging case.

You can also answer or reject calls from the Gear Icon X. Unlike the Bragi Dash, however, it’s not as cool as nodding or shaking your head. Navigation and controls are done by using the touch pad on the Gear Icon X. Activating a feature you want to use is as simple as lifting your finger off the earbud when you hear the voice prompt call out that specific feature.

The Gear Icon X has two big advantages over the Bragi Dash:

The Samsung name. People tend to trust a brand name that they know.

Cost. The Gear Icon X is less expensive than the Bragi Dash.

The biggest let down of the Gear Icon X is that it is only compatible with Android phones running Android 4.4 and above.

Battery life is listed as up to four hours, and the Gear Icon X is splash-proof, thanks to it’s P2i nano coating.